Mountain Squirrels
Rarely does one see a squirrel tremble.Life happens everywhere and anywhere, and sometimes it puts competitors in the wrong spots. In the case of the Agarthan Mountains, especially the eponymous World Mountain Agartha, rockslides are a common occurance from tiny pebble showers to the occasional boulder. While people have defenses in their settlements, animals are far less lucky, especially the diminuitive squirrel who not only had to deal with the environment amidst the rat race for evolution, but also the various birds of prey that loved the tall peaks of the mountains. So, it's not surprising that the squirrels that did survive the test of time were those that had some more defenses. The Mountain Squirrel is a specific evolution of the common grey Squirrel that has evolved a sturdy shell on its back, fused with its spine but in segments that can be rolled and moved much like a standard persons shoulderblades. This seems to have started with hardened bone inside of the back, but eventually mutated to an outward shell, perhaps being aided along by the power of earth-aligned mana that flows through mineral rich mountains. Although even if that aided the process of evolution, Mountain Squirrels are not inherently magical creatures. For the most part, these creatures are seen as pests that are too sturdy to chuck but too territorial to keep too close around, making to end of annoyances for the people along the sides of the great mountains.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Mountain Squirrel shares all the common traits of a standard tree squirrel, plush body with four agile limbs and a fluffy tail, with the addition of stronger teeth reinforced by a semi-retractable protective layer as well as the shell covering their back and fused with their spine. This does make the Mountain Squirrel comparatively less speedy than its cousins, but still rather rapid and agile as the shell isn't one whole piece, it has segments that allow the joints to still move freely.
Genetics and Reproduction
Like many mammals Mountain Squirrels perform live births with rather rapid gestation and growth times. After mating with a hierarchy of males, it generally takes a Mountain Squirrel around 60 days to gestate, and around 10 months to grow to full size, shell included.
Growth Rate & Stages
Mountain Squirrels grow rather quickly, with their fur beginning in under two weeks and their teeth growing between weeks 3 and 6. All of their sensory organs are usable within that same timeframe, and their shell begins to harden on week 2, coming to full hardness in a couple of months. While it will be a touch larger than the squirrel for some time until it grows to its full size, it will not be heavy enough to impede them in their search for food.
Ecology and Habitats
The Mountain Squirrel rather eponymously prefers to live in mountainous regions where it eats from smaller rocks, the occasional bird or rodent, or in cases with tree-laden mountains nuts and bark from thsoe trees.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Mountain Squirrels are omnivorous, they eat meat usually in the form of small birds or rodents, occasionally insects. They eat vegetation from root vegetables, seeds, nuts, and tree bark. They are even known to eat small rocks, breaking them apart with either their shell or their sturdy teeth, eating them for the minerals inside. What they don't eat, they store inside their cheeks and take home to their dens for storage.
Biological Cycle
Mountain Squirrels while not fully hibernating tend to hunker down with some food stores for winter, only leaving their burrows to check for safety or in the case of an emergency.
Behaviour
Mountain Squirrels are skittish and occasionally territorial creatures. They definitley don't like any big creatures or people getting all up in their area, and even other squirrels are only tolerated if they're part of the family. They are also hoarding creatures, with old Agarthan texts refering to them as Dragon Squirrels for this exact reason, plus their chattering temper when their territorial boundaries are being pushed.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Mountain Squirrels don't have a complex social structure, although from what little researchers have been able to tell they are some degree matriarchal, with females having a cotorie of males foraging with her, along with any young that haven't taken off on their own yet. Sometimes these groups will forage together, but only in a bountiful or threatening area. If it's safe or sparse enough for them to move on their own, it'll be a territorial competition.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Mountain Squirrels are mainly found in Agartha, but due to proximity you can find some in Boncly although due to those mountains being more arid and less bountiful, it's not the ideal environment. They also, oddly enough, are present in the mountains of Kaguyan Federation as well.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
While it is a rare and mostly unobserved trait, many biologists of Agartha theorize that part of what makes the Mountain Squirrels so hard to capture is that something about their shell and the adjustment of it gives them a sense of changes in the air, or perhaps vibrations nearby. Skeletal studies of them have found that their shells are in fact slightly porous internally, adding some credibility.
Scientific Name
Sciurus agarthensis
Lifespan
6-8 years
Average Height
9-12 inches (w/o tail, practically doubled including it)
Average Weight
3-5lbs on average
Average Physique
Mountain Squirrels are rotund and a little blocky due to their shell keeping them close to the ground.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Most Mountain Squirrels are shades of reddish-brown or grey in order to blend in with the rocks on their home mountains, but there is a not infrequent strand of albinism within the species, and since they already live on mountains those kinds adapt rather well to hunting on higher often snowy peaks.
Geographic Distribution
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